Does chugging water when you drink help the next morning?

October 24, 2025 •

5 min read

According to researchers at Utrecht University, while drinking water can make you feel less thirsty, it does little to prevent the headache, nausea, and overall misery of a hangover. This challenges the popular belief that chugging water when you drink is a foolproof cure for the next morning.

Quick Summary

Studies reveal that hangovers are more complex than simple dehydration, involving inflammation and oxidative stress. Consuming water primarily alleviates thirst, with a limited effect on core symptoms like nausea and headache. The most effective preventative measure remains drinking less alcohol.

Key Points

Dehydration Is Not the Sole Cause: Hangovers are the result of multiple factors beyond simple dehydration, including inflammation and oxidative stress.
Water Has Limited Effect on Core Symptoms: Chugging water may alleviate thirst and dry mouth, but it does little to prevent the headache, nausea, and fatigue of a hangover.
Metabolism Cannot Be Rushed: The liver breaks down alcohol at a steady rate that water cannot speed up, meaning a large intake of water won't make you sober faster.
Prevention is More Effective than Curing: Strategies like drinking water between alcoholic beverages, eating beforehand, and pacing yourself are more effective than trying to cure a hangover with water after the fact.
Moderation is Key: The most certain way to avoid a hangover is to limit alcohol consumption.
Rest and Electrolytes Aid Recovery: Once a hangover has set in, adequate sleep and replenishing lost electrolytes are the most effective ways to support your body's recovery.

The Dehydration Myth: What Science Says

It's a commonly held belief that the misery of a hangover is primarily caused by dehydration and that compensating by drinking large amounts of water will prevent it. While alcohol does act as a diuretic, causing the body to lose fluids and electrolytes, recent scientific reviews indicate that dehydration is not the sole, or even the primary, cause of a hangover's most debilitating symptoms. Drinking water can certainly alleviate the symptoms of dehydration, such as thirst and a dry mouth, but it won't address the other biological processes responsible for the overall feeling of being unwell.

A review compiling data from several studies found that participants who drank water felt less thirsty but experienced the same levels of pain, nausea, and exhaustion as those who did not. This suggests that while hydration is beneficial, it doesn't cure the core problem. The consensus is that hangovers and dehydration are co-occurring but ultimately independent consequences of alcohol consumption.

Beyond Dehydration: The Multiple Causes of Hangovers

Alcohol wreaks havoc on the body in multiple ways, with dehydration being only one piece of the puzzle. The true cause of a hangover is a complex interplay of several factors.

Oxidative Stress: The metabolism of alcohol produces toxic byproducts, which leads to increased oxidative stress in the body. This imbalance between antioxidants and free radicals contributes to inflammation and cellular damage, leading to headaches and other painful symptoms.
Inflammatory Response: As the body processes alcohol, it triggers an inflammatory response. This widespread inflammation contributes to the overall feeling of illness, fatigue, and pain associated with a hangover.
Electrolyte Imbalance: As alcohol acts as a diuretic, it causes increased urination, which can lead to a loss of electrolytes like potassium and sodium. While hydration helps, it doesn't always fully restore the electrolyte balance.
Gastrointestinal Upset: Alcohol can irritate the lining of the stomach and intestines, leading to nausea, stomach pain, and general digestive distress.
Disrupted Sleep: While alcohol can make you feel drowsy, it disrupts normal sleep patterns, leading to poor-quality, fragmented rest. This contributes to the fatigue and exhaustion often felt the next day.
Changes in Blood Sugar: Alcohol can cause a drop in blood sugar, which may contribute to symptoms like fatigue, shakiness, and headaches.

The Limited Effect of Chugging Water

While drinking water is a healthy practice, chugging a large amount of it right before bed or upon waking has limited therapeutic effect on a full-blown hangover. It can certainly help with dehydration-related symptoms but fails to address the multi-pronged assault on your system. Think of it this way: a car engine might overheat because of a leak (dehydration), but if the engine is also on fire (inflammation) and the piston is seizing (oxidative stress), simply adding water won't fix the whole problem.

How Alcohol Actually Works Against Your Body

Understanding the physiological processes behind a hangover helps explain why water alone is not a cure. The liver is primarily responsible for metabolizing alcohol, breaking it down into less harmful substances. This process, however, takes time, and no amount of water can speed it up.

Antidiuretic Hormone Suppression: Alcohol suppresses the release of vasopressin, the antidiuretic hormone that helps the kidneys reabsorb water. This leads to increased urination and fluid loss.
Metabolic Stress: The liver converts alcohol into acetaldehyde, a toxic compound that contributes to inflammation and oxidative stress before it's further broken down. The liver can only process alcohol at a relatively constant rate, typically about one standard drink per hour, and this cannot be accelerated by hydration.

More Effective Strategies Than Chugging Water

Since chugging water is not a magic cure, a more comprehensive and proactive approach is necessary to mitigate hangover symptoms. Prevention is far more effective than attempting a cure after the fact.

Comparison of Hangover Management Techniques


Strategy	Mechanism	Effectiveness	Comments
Chugging Water	Addresses dehydration symptoms like thirst and dry mouth.	Limited	Doesn't impact core hangover symptoms; timing is crucial.
Drinking Water Between Drinks	Slows overall alcohol consumption; helps with gradual hydration.	High	Reduces total alcohol intake, which is the most effective prevention strategy.
Eating a Nutritious Meal	Slows alcohol absorption; provides vital nutrients.	High	A meal beforehand, especially one with fats and protein, is most beneficial.
Getting Quality Sleep	Allows the body to rest and repair.	High	Rest is crucial for recovery from alcohol's disruptive effects.
Drinking Electrolytes	Replenishes lost minerals, addressing one cause.	Moderate	More effective than plain water for restoring balance.
Taking NSAIDs	Reduces inflammation and pain, like headaches.	Symptomatic	Treats a symptom, not the underlying cause. Use with caution.
Limiting Consumption	Prevents the onset of a hangover in the first place.	Highest	The only surefire way to avoid a hangover.

Practical Tips for the Responsible Drinker

Beyond just drinking less, there are other steps you can take:

Eat Before and During: Consuming food, particularly meals rich in fat and protein, before drinking slows the absorption of alcohol into the bloodstream.
Pace Yourself: The strategy of alternating alcoholic drinks with a glass of water is effective because it forces you to slow down your alcohol intake.
Choose Lighter Liquors: Darker liquors like whiskey and bourbon often contain more congeners, byproducts of the fermentation process that can worsen hangovers. Sticking to clear liquors might help reduce the severity of symptoms.
Rest and Recovery: A hangover is a signal that your body needs time to recover. The best cure is simply to wait it out and allow your body to heal.

Conclusion: Moderation is the Only Certainty

The common practice of chugging water in an attempt to cure a hangover is largely ineffective beyond addressing thirst. Scientific evidence shows that hangovers are the result of multiple factors, including inflammation, oxidative stress, and disrupted sleep, none of which can be fixed with a large gulp of water. The most reliable and scientifically-supported method for preventing a terrible next morning is to manage your alcohol consumption responsibly. Incorporating water throughout your drinking session is a good habit that slows your intake, but true prevention comes from moderation. For those seeking relief from existing symptoms, focusing on rest, electrolytes, and time is the most pragmatic approach.

An authoritative source on this topic is the National Institutes of Health. For more in-depth information, you can visit the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) website.

Frequently Asked Questions

No, drinking water does not make you less drunk. Alcohol metabolism is a process controlled by liver enzymes that water cannot accelerate. While hydrating is important for overall health, it won't lower your blood alcohol concentration (BAC).

Alcohol suppresses vasopressin, an antidiuretic hormone, causing your kidneys to produce more urine and leading to fluid loss. This dehydration triggers the sensation of thirst, a common hangover symptom.

Sipping water is generally better during a hangover. Chugging water, especially when nauseous, can overwhelm your stomach and potentially lead to vomiting. Gentle, steady hydration is more effective and easier to manage.

Drinking water before bed helps combat the dehydration that occurs overnight due to alcohol's diuretic effect. While it can reduce thirst and a dry mouth, studies show it has only a modest effect on overall hangover severity and doesn't prevent core symptoms like nausea and headache.

There is no fast, definitive cure for a hangover. The most effective approach is to allow your body time to metabolize the alcohol. You can treat symptoms with rest, mild pain relievers for headaches, and hydrating with fluids that contain electrolytes.

Electrolyte solutions can be more beneficial than plain water because they help replenish essential minerals like sodium and potassium that are lost due to alcohol's diuretic effect. This helps restore your body's balance more effectively.

Eating food, particularly before drinking, can slow down the absorption of alcohol into the bloodstream, which may delay the onset of intoxication. Drinking water between alcoholic beverages can also slow your pace. However, neither will prevent you from getting drunk if you consume enough alcohol.